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2. Road building drives surge in Chinese asphalt finisher sales

A total of 2,335 asphalt finishers were sold in China last year, a 24 per cent increase on sales levels in 2016. The market is dominated by crawler machines, which made up 93 per cent of the market last year.

During the last two years, the structure of demand has undergone substantial changes. Among crawler machines, 8-9.5 m maximum paving width models are now the most popular size. Regionally, the more developed East region still dominates demand, and this is the result of strong sales in Shandong and Jiangsu, particularly Xuzhou city.

Although China is a net importer of asphalt finishers, the country's manufacturers made some exports last year, with just over 100 pavers being sold overseas. However, these exports were dwarfed by the more than 700 pavers which were imported, primarily from Europe.

Following last year’s steep growth in paver sales, the market is expected to level-off this year. Growth in expressway construction is expected to slow this year, which has a direct bearing on asphalt finisher sales. However, the road building market will benefit from central and local government schemes to improve ordinary and rural roads.

Off-Highway Research’s May 2018 Asphalt Finishers China Equipment Analysis is now available to subscribers to the Chinese Service. Click here to log in. The report can also be bought as a stand-alone publication by non-subscribers. Click here for more details or contact [email protected] to enquire about a subscription.